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In Cuomo Campaign, Shadow of '02 Race

Andrew M. Cuomo has established a formidable campaign in his quest to become attorney general. He has collected the largest amount of money, a full $1 million more than his closest rival in the crowded Democratic field. And he has picked up significant endorsements from labor unions, political organizations and public officials.

But Mr. Cuomo is having lingering troubles with some black political leaders, many of whom say they remain irritated by -- and unforgiving of -- his primary battle four years ago against H. Carl McCall, New York's first black major party nominee for governor.

Several prominent black politicians say they have never forgotten the role Mr. Cuomo played in the 2002 race, when many black officials and black voters viewed Mr. McCall's candidacy with historic expectancy.

And they complain now, as they did then, that Mr. Cuomo placed himself as the spoiler in that campaign, diverting attention and money from the race against an incumbent, two-term Republican governor and dividing the Democratic Party in the process. Mr. Cuomo abruptly pulled out of that race just one week before the primary, avoiding what polls indicated would have been a searing defeat at the hands of Mr. McCall.

"I have talked with a great many people in the African-American community who feel that Andrew has ground that he needs to make up," said United States Representative Gregory W. Meeks, a Queens Democrat who has not endorsed any candidate in the race.

"And it comes from the McCall race. This year, many people in the African-American community are looking to see his sincerity toward us. But it's something I think he recognizes and has been working on."

For his part, Mr. Cuomo's supporters say that that the 2002 election was, in political terms, ages ago and that he has done much to mend his relationship with black officials in the state. His supporters say he has picked up a number of endorsements from some prominent black New Yorkers and that he has spent the last year reacquainting himself with voters throughout the state, many of them African-American.

"I have great support in the African-American community, and I've worked my whole life on issues that have made a significant difference," Mr. Cuomo said in an interview on Friday. "At the end of the day, I think I will have the majority of the popular and represented support."

There are signs that Mr. Cuomo, a former housing secretary in the Clinton administration, has been picking up support from some black officials in recent months. Byron W. Brown, the newly elected mayor of Buffalo, as well as Assemblyman Darryl C. Towns of Brooklyn, have endorsed him. So has Russell Simmons, the hip-hop impresario and businessman. And more endorsements are to be announced, his campaign said.

Nonetheless, many black officials say they have not quite been able to put the past behind them.

"For many of us, the 2002 campaign for governor represented the best chance the state has ever had to elect a black governor, and a lot of people had their hopes and dreams invested in Carl," said State Senator Kevin S. Parker, a professor of political science at Brooklyn College and a former aide to Mr. McCall.

"And many of us felt that, when we finally get someone so qualified to run, here comes someone who has never run for office before to spoil things," said Mr. Parker, who is black and who has endorsed the lawyer Charlie King for attorney general. "Does that feeling still linger now? Absolutely," he added. "And it's not just elected officials; it's community leaders and voters."

Not surprisingly, Mr. McCall, the Democratic Party's standard-bearer of four years ago, was equally emphatic. "If he has any prominent African-American support, I haven't seen any sign of it," Mr. McCall said in an interview last week. "Many people I talk to are not positive about his campaign for attorney general. I know I couldn't support him."

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Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Cuomo faced some criticism from his rivals and their supporters because of his decision to skip an event on Martin Luther King's Birthday in Harlem sponsored by the Rev. Al Sharpton and instead deliver a paid speech that day in Las Vegas.

Nonetheless, several black elected officials suggested that they were open to supporting Mr. Cuomo in the attorney general's race. But they said the race against Mr. McCall would make it necessary for Mr. Cuomo to work hard to persuade them to support him.

But Mr. Meeks said Mr. Cuomo was not the only candidate in the race who has been seared by lingering tensions from past campaigns.

He noted that many New Yorkers recall the 2001 mayoral race, when supporters of Mark Green sought to torpedo Fernando Ferrer's hopes of becoming the city's first Puerto Rican mayor by linking him to Mr. Sharpton in conservative white neighborhoods in the final moments of the Democratic primary. Mr. Green, now a candidate for attorney general, has adamantly disavowed any role in that effort.

And Mr. King, who ran for lieutenant governor in an alliance with Mr. Cuomo in 2002, was criticized by some elected officials for being the Cuomo campaign's chief weapon against Mr. McCall, who was a favorite of almost all the state's elected officials and Democratic leaders and a fellow black politician.

The criticism of Mr. Cuomo's role in the 2002 race has also become an issue raised by his rivals in this year's race for attorney general.

"I don't hesitate to tell audiences that I was an early supporter of Carl McCall in 2002 because he was the best-qualified candidate," said Richard L. Brodsky, an assemblyman from Westchester County who is running for attorney general. "Many Democrats looked at that as a historic opportunity. Andrew decided to run against him and make his life difficult."

Several black elected officials say that Mr. Cuomo has taken pains to meet with them and that that they give him credit for addressing the issue with them.

"I still believe there are some issues from that aborted race," said Assemblyman Carl E. Heastie, a Bronx Democrat who said he had not endorsed any candidate in the race. But Mr. Heastie added that he had met with Mr. Cuomo in recent months. "We have talked about the issues," Mr. Heastie said. "He said that if he had it to do over again, he probably wouldn't have run."

Those expressions, said State Senator David A. Paterson, who is also the Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer's choice for lieutenant governor, have prevented the 2002 race from becoming more of an issue this year for Mr. Cuomo.

"I would say that there may be some lingering memory of what happened, and yet, I haven't heard it as much as I might have expected," Mr. Paterson said. "Andrew recognized that there was a problem and performed a mea culpa that has helped his campaign. And I think he really has developed an understanding of the issues from a perspective that relates very well in the black community."